Dispensing apparatus for sanitary drinking-cups



L. w'. LUELLEN.

DISPENSING APPARA US FOR SANITARY DRINKING CUPS.

PPLICATION FILED JUNE 21,1919.

M ,4 TTORNEYS Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

UNITED STATES LAWRENCE W. LUELLEN, OF MOUNTAIN LAKES, NEW JERSEY.

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SANITARY DRINKING-CUPS.

Application filed June 21,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAwRnNoE W. LUELLEN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Mountain Lakes, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Dispensing Apparatus for ganitary Drinking- Cups, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The invention relates to improvements in dispensing apparatus for sanitary drinking cups.

It is the object of the invention to provide a dispensing apparatus for storing and rotecting a stack of nested cups from ust,

dirt, and the like while they are being individually removed for service from the stack. With this conception in mind, the invention comprehends a relatively flexible inexpensive wrapper or protector adapted to surround a stack of cups when disposed on a suitable support, and having an upwardly opening portion through which a bottom portion of an end cup of a stack projects to permit its removal. The flexible protector is of a character to cling to the cups, and as they are removed one by one from the stack for use, the protector is adjusted or moved over the nested stack of cups in keeping with their removal to always leave a portion of at least one cup projecting through the opening in the protector and thereby exposed, encircling or protecting the other cups resting upon the support to keep them in a sanitary condition until used.

It is a further object of the invention to utilize the. original wrapper for a stack of cups when packed for shipment as a protectingmeans therefor when the cups are being dispensed upon a suitable support. When a stack of cups inclosed in its original wrapper is to be dispensed, the wrapper is moved over the end cup of the stack to permit this cup to be exposed, providing a grasping portion and at the same time the other cups in the stack are inclosed and protected by their original wrapper. Manifestly the protector or wrapper is composed of relatively Inexpensive material having inherent flexible qualities and clings to the cups of the stack, being moved from the stack as the cups are individually removed from time to time so as to protect all of the cups in the stack except the outside of the upper end cup projecting through an opening in the wrapper Specification of Letters Patent.

. the same as indicated by Patented Nov. 22, 1921. 1919. Serial No. 305,781.

or protector, which grasped and used.

The invention further comprises improved means for supporting a nested stack of cups, including an inverted cone shaped member adapted to receive the lowermost cup of a stack, which cups are verted position and are lifted from the stack in such a position individually for. use.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, but of course it will be understood that many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing .a stack of cups on the support.

Fig. 2 shows a stack of cups as originally wrapped.

Fig. 3 shows a stack of cups about to be applied to'their support.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts, the numeral 1 illustrates a suitable means of support, in the illustration herein disclosed taking the form of a wall or the like, having secured thereto the cup supporting element 2 fastened to the wall 1 by the securing device 3. The support extends outwardly at right angles to the wall for a slight distance and is provided with an upwardly extending vertical shank 4 upon which is mounted a cup support 5 shown as being of a substantially cone shaped construction. This supporting cone may be composed of any suitable material, and of a solid or hollow structure being preferably of a configuration to receive an inverted cup of substantially frusto-conical formation.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings I have shown a stack of nested cups 6 disposed in an original shipping wrapper 7, the wrapper constituting a protecting means for the cups during their shipment, and the ends of this wrapper are preferably closed by twisting the reference numeral 8. This wrapper is preferably composed of tissue or crape paper of an elastic nature that will clin to the cups, but ohviously any suitable exible wrapper may be employed as is found desirable. The wrapper is secured in taut condition about the stack of cups so thatthe offset rim or flange portions of the cups will correspondingly cup of the stack is to be supported in an in-' offset or deflect the Wrapper encom- I being seated upon the passing said rims or flanges to create interfitting engagements between each cup of the stack and the wrapper. While the ends of the wrapper are closed by a twisting thereof, it is obvious that other ways for closing these ends canbe' resorted to so long as the cups are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition andprotected from germs, dirt, or I inal wrapper-is now constituting a protector for the cups while upon a support and in a osition to be dispensed one at a time. hen the wrapper has been pulled down in this manner, theupper cup of the stack projects through the opening in the wrapper and the material of the wrapper being of an elastic flexible nature clings to the cups and is supported thereon. Thiswrapper or protector will not move over cup unless adjusted by the hand of the user, and as the cups are removed from the stack one by one, the flexible protector 7 is likewise adjusted downwardly over the upstandin stack 6 on the support to protect and inc ose all of the cups of the stack except the end one which has a portion thereof projecting through the end of the protector by which it may be grasped and removed. After a stack of the cups are placed upon a support they are removed as needed and when a number of the cups have been removed the protector 7 has of course been shifted downwardly until it takes the crinkled line position 10 shown in Fig. 1, the adjustment of the protector over the sides of the cups always being such as to leave a portion of the end cup of free to be grasped while at the same time encircling and completely protecting the other clips from dirt, germs, and the like, to maintain them in a sanitary condition.

An important characteristic of this invention resides in the inherent elastic qualities of the protector 7, it being observed that this protector irrespective of its position on the stack the cups will always cling thereto to be self-supporting and must be moved by the hand of the user after a single cup has been taken from the stack to enpose a portion of the next succeeding cup. The protector is very inexpensive, and after serving as an original wrapper in which a stack of cups are packed and as a protecting means tor maintaining the cups in a sanitary con the sides of the the stack exposed and dition while they are being dispensed, it is usually thrown away or discarded as its cost is very slight being of a non-breakable nature and always affording protection for the cups during the shipping thereof as well as in the dispensing of said cups.

While the wrapper or protector has been described as being. made of arelatively flexible crepe, tissue, or soft paper, it will be understood that this is merely for the purpose of disclosure and that any other protector which is of a substantially flexible character may be used without departing from the invention. vObviously good results can be.

had with the use of cloth, rubber or other protector, and these forms of protector can be conveniently used without departing from thisinvention. It will also be understood that bthermeans for supporting the cups than the cone shaped member 5 can be used with good results, but it has been found that the present construction is highly efficient as it will be obvious that the cups are normally disposed in an inverted position upon the support and are lifted therefrom bottom side up, .no means being required to engage-the rims of one or more of the cups to hold them in position, such as is customary in most of the cup dispensing devices now in use.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A package of the character described comprising. 'a stack of nested cups having projected edge portions,'and a wrapper there-' for drawn taut about said stack throughout the stack and preventing free movement of any of the cups relative to the wrapper when the end of the package is open to form therein interior indentations to individually receivethe rims of all of the cups of said stack, substantially as described.

2. A package of the character described comprising a stack of nested cups having projected edge portions, and a wrapper therefor comprising a thin highly flexible material adapted when encompassing the stack of cups to create interfitting engagement between each cup of the stack and the wrapper deflecting of the material of the wrapper by the projected edge portions of the cups.

3. A package of the character described comprising a stack of nested cups having projected edge portions wrapped by a material having portions to both overlie and edges to conform itself to the edge portions its of all of the cups throughout the stack to grip said edge portions and prevent escape of the cups from the Wrapper irrespective of the opening'of one or both ends of the package for permitting the cups to be forcibly drawn over the inner face of the wrapping material.

5. A package of the character described comprising a stack of nested cups having projected edge portions. and a Wrapper therefor closely encompassing the stack of cups and displacing itself to create an interlocking holding engagement between the inner face of the wrapper material and the projected edge portions of all of the cups 15 of the stack.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature inthe presence of two Witnesses. LAWRENCE W. LUELLEN. Witnesses DOROTHY T. CLARE, HELEN WIsHUsEN. 

